Eleanor Snickelfinger - The bleach we use is from WoodKote

http://www.woodkote.com/

Select "Products" and bleach is at the top of the page. Two coats are required.

Hi - what is the best top coat to use after one coat of Bona natural ? i just had samples done and im leaning towards it (first one on bottom)

but it looks a little raw and unfinished Wish i was able to try other stains but its not an option. i want natural and light but want to minimize pink as much as possible.

There was another person who bleached their floors. I used Bona Traffic Satin final coat without any color. I’m not happy with the finish. It scratches easily and also doesn’t wear well to minor adjustments of furniture despite the furniture having felt pads.

My floors do look raw and the pink is minimized but still present.

I had mentioned in another reply that I would have gone with something a little darker. Maybe a light walnut.

Other people love the look of my floors, but I’m feeling as though they feel completely unfinished.

Initially raw is the look I thought I wanted, but with the older floors, it’s not as fresh looking as I had envisioned.

The new floors in the bedroom look better.

The Bona Traffic really hasn’t held up at all. And that’s with gentle use.

I hope this helps. I’m not sure what others have tried.

My sister used Loba and her floors have held up well over the past two years.

Thanks @Wendy Coster Did you use the Traffic HD?

You’re welcome Gaby. I wanted to use the Traffic HD, but my contractor said to go with the regular Traffic. He said that the HD leaves a cloudy residue between the floor boards.

He also doesn’t like to use Bona in general and prefers Loba, but I insisted on the Bona Naturale and the final coat of traffic neutral.

New flooring guy and new samples - from Top to Bottom 1. One coat Nordic with top coat; 2. Two coats Nordic with top coat and 3. One coat Country White with Top Coat thoughts?? Have to decide tonight!

@Gaby i like the color of the bottom but the shine of the middle! maybe its just the picture though. do you know if the top coat is a matte finish or satin?

also...i would REALLY love to know if anyone has tried this on engineered hardwoods?? please someone tell me its possible. just bought a new house and they are nice bruce engineered red oak...but they are soo orangey!

@Sarah Bland Hi i believe they used traffic HD satin on all i think the middle one might still be wet!!

They look beautiful and not cloudy at all as my contractor said. I wish I had gone with that instead. Please share how they wear? Thanks.. also, I love the bottom color of the cottage white, it doesn’t look like that creamy pink, it looks more like white oak. Very pretty.

I wish i had found this thread sooner. i just redid my red oak floors and had our contractor use nordic seal. some spots are very salmon/pinkish. he suggested adding another coat of nordic seal but i am worried it will make it even more pink. has adding another layer reduced the pink for anyone here? the other option is to sand and restain a different color. not sure if we have time to do this as painters are starting monday!

In order to counteract the red/pink tones you need a stain with green in it, as green is the complement to red, and when mixed, will give a more neutral color.

Would the green tint cause the lighter oak areas that aren't red to become green tinted?

We are deciding to do a round of bleaching to remove the pink and then will likely apply a coat of Nordic.

Did Michael Shetler finish his refinish? I spent a month stripping and sanding very very very old and damaged red oak floors. Stained with Bona sand dune and have 1 coat of nordic on it. The result is actually an opaque beige with SOME grain showing through. I like the room far more than I have for years, but I am disappointed in my own DIY results. That said, the floors were in very very bad shape and had been peed on loads of times by our own darn dogs. Now they are somewhat opaque but lovely, clean and secure.

Carmen your floors are LOVELY.

@Wendy Coster floors are lovely as well. That just leaves my floors . . .

Does anyone know of any furniture pads that actually 1. stay on and 2. work?

thank you eleanor. due to time constraints, i decided to let the floor guy do one more coat of nordic and i am pleased with the results. here is an updated photo. still some pink here and there but not nearly as bad.

Carmen, I am finishing my red oak floors in place. Could you please explain which products did you use? Did you do 2x Nordic Seal and then Traffic HD?

Hi Victor, we did 3 coats of nordic and then traffic HD

I've read all the comments and can't decide between bona Nordic or natural or loba....what's the verdict for the lightest look that doesn't have pink tones and doesn't yellow too quickly?

hi, Carmen, is it traffic hd satin finish?

Anna -- if your floors are being professionally done by a certified Bona professional and you want them to have a tinge of scandinavian, go for Bona Nordic. I did mine DIY and they didn't come out well, but i frikkin LOVE how much more protected the floors are even without polyurethane. The dogs (the reason I started on my DIY floor project to begin with) were sliding around like they were on an ice rink. The surface of the floors haven't been that nice in years.

Carmen, did you use only one of HD after the Nordic? Thanks again for your help

We followed Carmen’s plan. 3 Nordic + traffic HD, we love the result. We are happy for it.

Where's the best place to purchase Nordic and traffic HD?

Aamna -- if you are DIY-ing they are bit hard to come by. Either a local distributor, but I think you need to be a contractor, or a place online called AMPRO. I think it's www.ampro-online.com. I must say though if I had to do it again I would NOT DIY with Bona. Really difficult stuff to work with.

Eleanor, thanks for the link. I definitely won't be diy'g. Would you go with the Bona if a contractor did the work or are you saying you wouldn't use Bona at all? If not at all, what would you use instead?

Yeah I’m curious about this as well. I want to bleach mine then use loba which I heard is a great product. And I’m at the point of finding out that my flooring contractor it’s just a contractor and I’m running around picking out paint and stains with an unfinished floor and an unexperienced flooring guy!!

Hi Carmen and Yiyiwii, how many coats of traffic HD did you guys use, 1 or 2, and if it is the satin or extra matt finish? Thank you!!

Eleanor Snickelfinger I like these furniture pads, you can get them in different sizes. You pound them into the bottom of your legs, best I've found. https://www.amazon.com/Nail-Heavy-Furniture-Floor-Surfaces/dp/B00466Z97I/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QBHZSM7WQA0XGWGKZCNT

@heathermorr, are you still liking your floors, and is the Traffic HD Satin holding up well? We're extending our red oak flooring and refinishing the old in a few weeks. I'm really wanting to go with NaturalSeal but I'm worried we'll be able to see the difference between the old and new flooring if we don't stain. Also, I have Java gel stair posts and handrails too. Mine are chipping in areas where people tend to touch/grab. Wondering if you have the same issue or if I just need to scrub and re-sand/re-stain those areas. I'm wondering if I just didn't get the oils from peoples' hands off well enough before staining. Thanks!

Just completed a refinish job using Bona Natural Seal and Bona Traffic HD. Pic is of the finished flooring.

Beautiful! I wished I used the HD and am aggravated that the contractor advised me not to- my floor scratches so easily. Yours looks great!

Just adding, I love the Bona NaturalSeal and Traffic HD Matte nearly 6 months in. It is a lovely soft finish and seems to be holding up very well.

Dominy do you have red oak? I’m considering the same process could you post a pic?

Hi @lv2plyglfgal! Yes, we refinished our #2 Common (Builder's grade) red oak. The lower/cheaper grade has more "character markings", but the darker patches offer some contrast to the slight pink that I can still see in different lighting. If you open all the comments above and search my name, you'll find my post with before/after photos and product list. I have no regrets, and love the results. It's scary, but this thread has great info to help you through it!

Our wonderful kitchen designer Anna Butler posted our recent renovation here on Houzz where you can see more photos and angles of the floor (and kitchen).

Classic Modern Kitchen and Nook

Before/After

@Dominy thank you and I can see why your designer posted it your kitchen turned out fantastic. Thank you we just started demo and floor guy coming next week to do samples..

@dominy lovely kitchen transformation. Wondering what material are your counter tops? Is it quartz ?

Hi All, thanks for all the great advice. Getting ready to strip red oak and try the Bona Natural with Traffic HD Satin. Has anyone tried putting a whitewash over the Bona Natural before sealing? Or pickling before sealing? I'm looking for a whitewashed look but, I'm afraid it will reintroduce the pink tones I'm trying to eliminate. Thanks!

Hi all, are the pink tones only a potential issue if you use the Nordic stain? I am wondering whether to go with Nordic or Natural Bona for my red oak floors.

It looks from pics like Natural Bona will leave the pink as is. Nordic will lighten the pinks, the more layers of nordic, the more lighter. I am having our red oak resurfaced this week and want to try 3 layers of Bona Nordic and 1 Traffic HD.

Andy, you are the original poster…what did you end up with?

Vishnu, pictures if you have them!

thanks

We went with Bona ClassicSeal over red oak to avoid the pink tones and potential streaking. We finished it with Bona Traffic HD in satin. We love it!

Vishu are you happy with the results? i want to do the same formula for my flooring. Are you satisfied do you think it lightened the pink tones? Do you have any pictures?

We had our original 1940 Red Oak stripped,feathered in new red oak in the kitchen. This is 2 coats of Nordic Seal and 3 coats of Bona Mega One extra matte. We did 3 coats to help protect the floors from 2 Huskies.

Definitely have a professional and verify they have used this before. Last pic shows uneven finish. We ended up having our floors done twice with the same flaws in multiple rooms. Though our company actually recommended the product they clearly were not qualified.

First pic is the before.

It’s beautiful- I wish I hadn’t listened to the contractor and went with the high traffic Bona- or what you used. I had floors refinished downstairs and upstairs had new floors installed and I can see every single little scratch.

Amanda- sorted for delayed response. Have been busy with contractor work and moving in. I am happy with the output, there is still some pink hue, but very light.

Well I am sold on Bona. I was undecided on what finish I wanted with my red oak floors. They are close to 80 years old and orange. We sanded them down.We did two coats of Nordic Seal and then three coats of Traffic HD. I so happy with how they turned out. We did the whole job ourselves so it is not perfect but I am still very happy with the results. I also want to say that it feels like the finish has settled into the floor nicely. I see more of the wood grain now than we did when it was just finished, I just love my floors!